A humorous book, ostensibly the diary of one Charles Pooter, a clerk in a London office. Written and illustrated by George and Weedon Grossmith, it first appeared in Punch magazine and was subsequently published in book form in 1892.
In the book Pooter relates his everyday life with his wife Carrie. He always seems to be at odds with someone: incompetent tradesmen, impudent junior clerks, his son's incomprehensible friends. Although Pooter professes to be a simple man he is evidently quite pompous and has an exaggerated sense of his own importance.
Much of the humour comes from the way that Pooter's self-importance is contrasted with his lack of judgement and common sense. However, the true genius of the book is this: although the story is told in the first person, the reader sees and understands much more of Pooter's life than does Pooter himself. The story could easily have been a tragedy, but is made comedy by the sheer triviality of his life.
The book is currently in print, or you can download it for free from Project Gutenberg. It is also available as an audio cassette read by Arthur Lowe..